


Year of the Moon

by ksrandomme



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Gen, Not Canon Compliant, Sailor Scouts - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:52:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ksrandomme/pseuds/ksrandomme
Summary: This is a story I have wanted to post for a while. Hopefully you like it. Hopefully it is good.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a story I have wanted to post for a while. Hopefully you like it. Hopefully it is good.

The tower was in shambles. Fires flared from all sides and occasionally a wall would fall, sending up clouds of dust. She lay quiet on the ground, hoping that whoever had attacked her here would go away so that she could recover and escape.

  
She never had very good luck.

  
_“Geez Usagi, it doesn’t take luck to win a battle. It takes focus of will!”_ Rei’s words floated through her brain as her body reported its various aches and pains to her. She thought that she *had* focus of will. She was the freaking Neo-queen of Tokyo for crying out loud! But apparently just wearing the crown and holding the scepter wasn’t enough. Apparently being born the eternal heir to the kingdom didn’t give her the throne and all its responsibilities. And once being the Protector of Earth and Moon didn’t save her from the big guns that now had broken through her defenses and left her helpless.

  
She glanced around for some sign of her friends and found them. Sailor Mercury was up along one ledge, her head smashed in. Sailor Jupiter was in the fountain. Venus was over by the nursery door, most likely to protect her child, but without success as the door was flung open. And Mars?

  
An attempt to shift over to her right found her final friend lying almost on top of her. She turned her head to stare into the sightless eyes of Rei Hino. ‘Oh Rei-chan’ she muttered. But her grief would have to wait. Above her, she heard a voice that rocked down into her soul.

  
“Tsk tsk, it appears the New Queen of Tokyo is just as useless as the Old Princess of the Moon. Too bad you gave up your powers so long ago without truly knowing what you were up against.” The voice sounded very familiar, but then it should have been when you considered that the voice was almost an exact replica of her own.

  
Neo-Queen Serenity crawled out from under Sailor Mars and made her shaky way to her feet. Turning carefully she faced the voice. The woman who hovered before her looked exactly like her except for a few trace differences. The eyes were black, soulless. The hair was as black as midnight, as was her gown. Her lips were blood red. And there, in the center of her forehead, was an upside down crescent moon. A sign of the Nega’verse.

  
“What should I call you?” Asked Serenity. “The new Queen Beryl?”

  
Her opposite laughed a chilling scrape of voice from somewhere deep. “You may call me Queen Nega’moon.”

  
Serenity sniffed in disdain. “And what do you want with me?”

  
Nega’moon stopped her chuckling and gazed deep into Serenity’s eyes. “What do I want of you? I want you to beg me for your life. I want you to cry before me, plead with me, on your knees. I want you to bare your soul and weep for what you have lost. And after all of that, Neo-Queen Serenity, I want you to die.”

  
Serenity stared at the other woman for some time before coming to a decision. Gracefully, she swept out her gown and knelt on the ground before the Nega’Queen. She reached up and opened the locket around her neck, allowing the music to play softly. She gazed lovingly and longingly at the man she had given her heart to and the baby that was now gone. Then she began to speak.  
“May the Universe hear my whispered pleas? May it have mercy on this pour, broken soul, and give her a second chance to do things right. May the Guardian of the Portal of time know what is best for this Universe and grant me one last wish.” And then she fell silent.

  
The Nega’Queen waited for a long moment. Serenity wondered when she might strike. Then she felt the air around them both crackle with unseen energy. Out of thin air beside them, a large sweeping arch opened a hole in the fabric of reality and Sailor Pluto stepped forth. She gazed at the scene before her. The Nega’Queen began to scream and Serenity bowed her head before the Guardian of Time.  
And the light faded to black.

  
o-O-o

  
In the pitch dark of night, a young girl woke with a start in her bedroom. All around her were pictures of bunnies and hearts on the walls, on her bed sheets and blankets. From where she sat, if there had been light, she could have seen her reflection in the heart shaped mirror behind her vanity table. She stared in that direction now, even though she could see nothing.

  
Her heart was pounding and she couldn’t catch her breath. That dream had seemed so real. But even now, as she stared long into the night, as her heart slowed and her breathing settled, she was already forgetting the dream she’d had. And if she tried to recall it, there was nothing but a blank void in her thoughts. With a sigh, she looked around; trying to figure out what woke her.

  
There, on the edge of the mirror, there was something metal that reflected the moonlight. She climbed out of bed and crossed her room to unloop the necklace she found. Feeling it all over, she found a seam that she slipped a thumbnail into and opened the locket of the necklace. Soft music could be heard playing from the locket, a soothing lullaby. She carried the locket with her back to bed, slipped beneath the sheets and allowed the music to lull her to sleep once again.


	2. Not a Princess

Shingo tiptoed up to his sister’s bedroom door and grasped the knob, turning it slightly band opening it to sneak a glance into the room. He looked over the bed and found it empty. Not only empty, but made and the room was beautifully ordered. One might think that this was a normal occurrence, but then most didn’t know his sister. He frowned as he turned completely around. Just as he reached the door again, his sister popped out from the hallway and yelled loudly, “Hello Little Brother!”

Usagi Tsukino laughed at the terrified look on her brother’s face. His scowls made her laugh louder and harder for a moment before she was able to get hold of herself well enough to lean against the wall and heave a sigh of relief. 

“Usagi! What did you go and do that for?” Shingo growled as he shoved past his sister and headed for the stairs to the first floor. Usagi closed her bedroom door and followed behind him, still giggling faintly and covering her mouth to smother the sound. Finally she had hold of herself enough to turn a question back onto her brother.

“Why were you in my room, Squirt?”

Shingo glanced back and rolled his eyes. “Mom told me to come get you for breakfast. I figured you were still in bed.”

“So what, you were going to wake me personally?” Usagi retorted with a mirthful grin. “Well sorry to disappoint you, but I was up a whole two hours ago.” She strolled into the kitchen, sat at the table and began to eat a small stack of pancakes that her mother had placed there. Shingo suddenly yelled and waved his arms.

“Hey, those are mine!”

Usagi ate another bite. “Thanks, Bro.” Shingo grumbled about thieving big sisters while he took another seat and their mother placed another plate of pancakes before him.

“Oh stop complaining, greedy gut, and eat your breakfast.” Mom looked at Usagi and smiled carefully. “It’s nice to see you up, Usagi. Ready for school?”

Shingo grinned slyly as Usagi finished the bite she was eating. The smile fell away when Usagi answered. “Yes ma’am, I have my lunch packed and in the fridge, my books are packed and have to leave in about five minutes to get to school in time.”

Shingo stared at Usagi. Then he blinked and stared again. Finally he asked, “Did you do something to your hair?”

Mom spun around and looked Usagi over critically. As typical of a school day, Usagi wore her white blouse, blue pleated skirt and red bow, along with long white socks and black penny-loafer shoes. But around her neck she wore a star shaped necklace on a long gold chain that hung down to the bow, and her hair was its normal long blonde pigtails with round odango-shaped buns on either side. But the tails were thin as most of her hair flowed down her back in great golden waves. And the buns were held together with bright red ribbons that trailed down her shoulders. 

“Oh my!” Mom exclaimed. Usagi reached up to touch a bun, her face aghast.

“They haven’t fallen out, have they?” Usagi cried out. Mom shook her head and Shingo reached a finger out to touch one of the curls before Usagi swatted his hand away.

Mom rushed forward and shoved Shingo’s hand away as well. “No dear, you look… beautiful!”

Usagi relaxed and sighed in relief. “Oh good. It took me almost an hour to find a hairstyle that I liked.” She looked at her watch and growled, “Oh great, no more breakfast. Time to go before I’m late.”

Jumping from the table, she bounced to the fridge and pulled her lunch out, grabbed her books from the bench by the door and headed out. Mom called to her before she got too far. “Here, at least take this as you go!”

Usagi took the rolled pancake that was wrapped around a piece of bacon and grinned, “Thanks Mom. See ya!”

She happily munched on the improvised breakfast as she walked away. Mom stared after her daughter in wonder for all of a minute before she turned and went back inside the house. She missed the black cat with amethyst eyes that sat up in the tree in the back yard, staring off after the young girl as well. The cat with the amber eyes blinked slowly before climbing down the tree and trotting after the girl on her way to school.

o-O-o

Usagi arrived at the school that first day with five minutes to spare. It seemed to be a good beginning to the year. She quickly found her friends and caught up on the goings on from vacation break.  Over the next week she also met some new people such as Ami Mizuno, although a lot of the kids acted uncomfortable around the super smart girl.

Naru and Gurio explained that Ami showed up right at the last day of orientation and was a very shy person. Usagi wondered if this super smart girl might be able to help her as a tutor. After all, she was having troubles already after one week of school. Take her latest English test for example. It was a 30 point failure! Her mom was going to ground her for a week.

And speaking of ground, she really ought to be watching the part under her feet. At least that’s what ‘Mr. Tall, Dark and Incredibly Handsome’ said right after he caught her round the waist and hauled her back to her feet in a smooth and graceful move. She shivered as his hands came away and she was about to smile until he admonished her. “Hey, watch your step. I don’t want you giving me lumps on *my* head.”

Usagi stopped and reached up to her hair self-consciously. “They are not lumps! They are Odangos! Like dumplings or buns. Don’t you know the difference?”

‘Handsome’ looked her over and she felt the desire to duck her head, but instead she faced him with her chin lifted, daring him to say something about her. Then he shrugged, “Well just watch where you’re going Bun-head.” 

As he walked away, Usagi gave in to the childish urge to stick her tongue out at him, but that was all. Afterwards she marched home, changed out of her school uniform and into something more casual before walking to the mall to meet Naru at her mother’s jewelry store. 

The whole week Usagi had no idea she was being shadowed by the black cat with the amethyst. It had followed her to school, watched her interaction with ‘Handsome’ and was now watching her through the glass doors of the jewelry shop. 

But she had noticed that her best friend Naru had skipped school that day, which is why she had come to jewelry shop to find out what had happened. The moment she walked in, she felt a distinct chill travel all the way up her spine. She looked for and found Naru, behind one of the jewelry counters, staring at her mother with wide eyes. Usagi wasn’t prepared for the explanation of Naru’s absence. In fact, after what Naru said, Usagi doubted she could believe anything her friend said at all!

o-O-o

“Usagi!” Naru whispered as Usagi arrived at her elbow. “I am so glad you are here. Something is wrong with my mother.”

Usagi looked in the direction of Naru’s mother. She was a striking woman with bright red hair and soft white skin. But as Usagi watched, she began to suspect that Naru was right. That there was something wrong with Naru’s mother became painfully apparent when Mrs. Osaka turned and grinned at Usagi. It was not a happy visage. Instead of instilling calm, Usagi felt the desire to run, run fast and far and to take Naru with her. Yet on the other hand, this was Naru’s mother. Whatever was happening to her, Usagi couldn’t leave her friend’s mother like this.

“Naru, I think you’re right. Something is not right with her. When does the store close?” Usagi glanced around at the customers in the shop. Naru followed her eyes and frowned.

“At least another hour. Right now she seems to be doing okay, but she kept watching the door until you came in. Now she’s staring at you! Usagi, what’s going on?”

Usagi shook her head. “I don’t have any idea Naru. But I promise we will figure this out together.”

For the next hour, Usagi watched as Mrs. Osaka and Naru worked with the customers. If anyone else had been looking, they wouldn’t have noticed the wrongness of Mrs. Osaka. But Usagi recognized the strange gaze out of those glassy eyes as something not right in this universe. And every time she turned towards the woman, she found those eyes staring at her, and the mouth growing just a little bit wider.

Finally the last customer left the shop. Finally Mrs. Osaka closed and locked the door. It didn’t make Usagi feel any safer. She moved to Naru’s side, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Naru, I want you to stay close to me. I’m going to try and find out what’s wrong with your mother.”

Before Usagi or Naru could say anything more, Mrs. Osaka spoke up loudly. “Nothing is wrong with *me*, Princess. *YOU* on the other hand are about to have a LOT of trouble coming your way.”

Usagi stared at the thing that had once been Mrs. Osaka. “Who are you and what have you done with Mrs. Osaka?”

The *thing* cackled, a frightening sound to be certain. Naru shuddered behind Usagi, who stood her ground and stared the thing in the eyes. The thing leaned against one of the jewelry counters and explained, “I am Morga, Youma of the Nega-verse. I was sent here by my Queen to find you, Princess.”

“Is she talking about me?” Asked Naru.  

Usagi shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.”

Morga laughed again. “Of course not, you silly twit! I am talking about her! The Princess!” She waved an arm towards Usagi. Usagi shook her head again.

“I’m not a Princess.” Usagi replied. Morga rolled her eyes crazily. Usagi demanded again, “What did you do with Mrs. Osaka?”

Morga grinned stupidly, “Guess.”

Now Naru got angry, stepping around Usagi and glaring at the Youma. “Where is my mother?” she screamed. Morga raised an arm and waved it as if flicking a bug away and Naru was lifted into the air by an invisible force and thrown across the room. She hit the wall, hard, and slumped down to the floor. Usagi ran over to her and knelt down, checking for a pulse. She was relieved to find her friend still alive, but bleeding from a scalp wound. Reassured that her friend was still alive, Usagi looked back at the Youma with rage in her eyes.

“You hurt her. And you still didn’t answer her question. Where is Mrs. Osaka?”

Morga slithered, and that was the only way to describe how she moved, closer to Usagi. “She is me, and I am she!” she spoke in a sing-song voice. Usagi looked closer and saw a black crescent shaped thing on Morga/Mrs. Osaka’s face. 

“You’ve possessed her!” Usagi exclaimed. She watched in horror as the thing that had taken over Mrs. Osaka moved closer, it’s face twisting up even more to reveal the ugly creature inhabiting the body of her friend’s mother. “Release her!”

“You are not one to be giving me orders, Princess.” Snarled the creature.

“I am not a Princess!” Usagi reiterated.

Morga grinned, “We shall see!” She reached out a hand as if to grasp Usagi, but was stopped suddenly as something glinted and flashed through the air to strike her hand and then embed itself into the floor at their feet. Usagi stepped back as did Morga, both looking in opposite directions. Usagi looked down to see the object was a bright red rose, while Morga looked to where the object had come from. “What are *you* doing here?” Morga yelled. Usagi followed her line of vision to see a tall tuxedoed gentleman, complete with top hat, cape and cane, standing in the doorway of the storage room at the back of the store.

“Step away from the girls.” Commanded the mysterious man. Usagi watched as Morga turned fully towards him, her hands rising to claw at him as she raced towards him.

“Look out!” Usagi yelled. The tuxedoed man dodged the creature, spinning away and coming between it and Usagi. 

“Stay behind me, Princess.” The Tuxedoed man ordered. Usagi bristled a bit. But did as told when he pulled his cane and stepped forward to attack the creature.

“Still not a Princess,” muttered Usagi as she looked around for something to use as a weapon. Behind a counter she caught sight of a round trashcan lid that she picked up and thought about using as a shield. But when the creature threw the tuxedoed man up and against the ceiling, and then moved forward towards Naru again, Usagi threw the lid like a large Frisbee that spun as it flew, hit the creature on the side of the head, and then flew back into Usagi’s hands. 

The Youma hissed in pain as it turned its attention back towards Usagi. “That *hurt*!” it snarled. Usagi smiled with a sickeningly sweet expression.

“Oh I do apologize.” She said as she shifted position, the lid now in her right hand. “Let me see if I can do better next time!”

The creature began to run at her and Usagi threw the lid once again, but this time she aimed much higher. The Tuxedoed man had regained his feet and ran to intercept Morga before she could reach Usagi, and that’s when the roof came down. Usagi’s through, which she had timed almost perfectly, hit the ceiling with such force that it brought the entire ceiling down on the creature. The Tuxedoed man stopped short, looking from the creature to Usagi and then to the ceiling.

“Nice toss, Princess.” The Tuxedoed man quipped. Usagi sneered.

“I am not a Princess.” She clipped as she stepped towards the creature. The Tuxedoed man pulled out his cane, snapped a knob at the top, and pulled a sword from out of the black barreled sheath of it. He moved towards the creature, sweeping the sword up and preparing to dispatch it with relish. Usagi grabbed his arm and halted him before he could bring the sword down. “No. You can’t kill her.”

“Why not?” he asked in disgust. 

Usagi waved her hand towards Naru, who was still out of it lying against the wall. “That is her mother. We can’t just kill her. We have to find a way to help Mrs. Osaka.”

The Tuxedoed man looked closer at the creature in Mrs. Osaka’s body. He knelt carefully, keeping out of reach of the thing’s hands and claws. It snarled and reached towards him but of course it couldn’t reach him. Usagi leaned over and stared at the thing. Tuxedo man looked back at her. “Well, you have any ideas?”

Usagi thought about it for a moment. Then she smiled as an idea snapped into her head. She knelt next to Tuxedo man and glared at the creature. “You have only two choices. Either you can leave now and go back to your ‘Queen’, tell her that you didn’t find this ‘Princess’ you were looking for and that you needed to move on. Or…” she shrugged at this point and looked away. 

“Or what?” asked the creature. Usagi waited another moment before she turned back to the thing and smiled sweetly.

“Or we get a Priestess here to exorcise you the hard way.”

Tuxedo man stared at Usagi incredulously while the creature began to tremble. Usagi waited patiently, her smile plastered to her face. The creature attempted once more to appeal to Usagi and the Tuxedoed man. “You can’t be serious.”

Usagi stood up and headed towards the phone she saw on the counter. The creature began to jabber in fear. “No, no, okay. Look, I’ll go. I promise!”

Usagi spun around and looked the creature in the eyes. “And you tell the ‘Queen’ that you didn’t find the ‘Princess’!”

The creature nodded vigorously. “Yes, of course! No Princess here, no need to fear.” And with that, the creature closed its eyes. Some strange smoke appeared to waft off of the body and the face of Mrs. Osaka reappeared. Usagi sighed and the Tuxedoed man reached into the wreckage of the ceiling and pulled Mrs. Osaka out and over to the wall by her daughter. He stood and looked back at Usagi.

“Smart move, telling that thing you weren’t the Princess.” Tuxedoed man said grinning. Usagi frowned as she walked around him and over to Naru and her mother.

“I was simply telling it the truth. I’m not some strange Princess. I’m just plain Usagi Tsukino, school girl just starting my senior year and already failing English.” Usagi sat down next to Naru and pulled the other girl’s head into her lap. 

The Tuxedoed man stood to his full height and smiled. “Well, Usagi Tsukino, you were very brave tonight and if you hadn’t been then your friend and her mother would have died here.”

Usagi looked up at him. “Yeah well, she’s my friend. By the way, I didn’t get your name.”

He tipped his hat to her, bowed slightly and smiled before answering, “You can call me Tuxedo Mask. And I am ever at your service, Usagi Tsukino.”

Usagi felt the stupid desire to grin at this and went with it. “Okay, but I have one question for you. Have any ideas as to how I explain that ceiling caving in? I can’t very well tell them I threw a trashcan lid up at it, now can I?”

Tuxedo mask smiled as he looked up at the ceiling and the hole in it. Pulling a rose from his jacket, he threw it up and struck the water pipe that had been exposed. It burst, showering himself, Usagi and the Osaka family with water that ran everywhere. He looked back at Usagi. “Just tell them the water main burst before you got here, that should explain everything.”

And with that Tuxedo Mask slipped out the front door, which was now unlocked for some strange reason, and disappeared.

o-O-o

The cat stalked outside the arcade until the last human occupant had left, then slipped in unnoticed. She trotted up the aisle to a video arcade game that displayed the “Sailor V” game an leapt to the stool before it. She gazed into the screen of the machine, tapped one of the buttons on the console, and spoke in a clear voice. “Agent Luna, reporting.”

The screen went blank, then words began to appear. *Has the subject been contacted?*

“No, I have not spoken to the girl, as ordered.”

*Good. Carry on.*

“Wait!” Luna tapped the glass quickly. “Why are we changing the plan? Why am I not contacting the subject and training her to be Sailor Moon?”

At first there was no reply and Luna thought that her contact had left her with no answers. Then suddenly, more words appeared.

*There is no Sailor Moon. She will not be contacted by you or your counterpart. You have other subjects who are ready for the transformation. This one is not. Carry on.*

The screen blanked out and then the game returned brightly. Luna stared at the flickering screen, her thoughts whirling. “No Sailor Moon?” she muttered to herself before leaping from the game and slipping out a back door with the proprietor of the arcade. When she was a safe distance from the human, she stopped and stared up at the moon as if she could get answers from it. “If there is no Sailor Moon, does that mean Chaos will reign?”

But of course the moon had no answers for the black cat with the amethyst eyes. And eventually, Luna had no choice but to follow instructions and carry on.


	3. Fire River Shrine

Agent Luna trotted down the sidewalk on the way to Hikawa Shrine. It was a small, nondescript Shinto shrine that she had been ordered to investigate. Her concern in this assignment was that she had to leave her original target alone for the day, but Luna had no choice but to follow orders. She wasn’t even sure what she was supposed to be doing here. The only thing of interest was the fact that the Shrine was on ‘Fire River’.

With a sigh, Luna waited for a bus to travel by and turn the corner she was waiting to cross. Who knew what the Universe was trying to say anymore. Unbeknownst to the small black cat, the bus that had just passed her carried a number of young girls all excited about the Shrine. And amongst the group was Usagi Tsukino.

Usagi had been dragged along by Naru and Kuri to the mysterious Fire river shrine to collect ‘Love’ charms. All the girls had them and it was all so very exciting and Usagi was really bored by all of it. But what she *was* interested in was the strange exhaustion of some of the girls who *had* gotten them recently. So she had agreed to come along with her friends, but secretly she hoped to figure out what was going on. And if necessary, keep her two friends from being hurt as well.

At the next bus stop, several more girls piled on for the ride. Along with them walked a tall handsome man, one that Usagi could have sworn she had seen before. He slowly threaded his way through the throng until he reached the seat next to Usagi’s and sat down with a sigh. Usagi glanced over at him just as he was looking at her. Or she hoped that was the case, it was hard to tell with those dark sunglasses that hid his eyes.

“So let me guess, you’re skipping school to get love charms like all the other girls?” He said. Usagi blinked, confused for a moment until she realized he was talking to her. She gulped and felt all the blood drain from her face.

“No!” She nearly yelled at him. Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself before continuing. “No, my friends asked me to come. There’s been some freaky things going on and I didn’t really want them going alone.”

The guy canted his head, looking over the rims of his sunglasses. “So I take it you don’t believe in these love charms?”

Usagi shrugged. “I just know I don’t have time for them. I’m barely making it in my studies as it is, why do I need to add a boyfriend in *that* mix right now?” She turned in her seat to look at him fully. “And what about you? Why are you on *this* bus?”

The man smiled. “I’m going to school.”

Usagi squinted at him skeptically. “Oh really? You, in school? How old are you?”

He pulled out a wallet and flipped it open to show a student ID which read ‘Mamoru Chiba’, 11 th year student at Azuba High School. Usagi blinked and felt her cheeks heat in a blush. “You look a lot older than I took you for. Sorry.”

Mamoru shrugged. “No big deal. Lots of people mistake me for a University student.”

“Maybe it’s because you look so serious all the time,” Usagi replied. Mamoru simply shrugged again and looked out the windows. Usagi looked out with him and saw that her stop was coming up. Naru and Kuri were already standing and headed for the door. “Looks like my stop.”

Mamoru nodded and watched her go, his eyes gazing at her from over the rims of his sunglasses. “Be careful.”

Usagi smiled and waved at him before walking off the bus with her friends. He was a pleasant enough guy, strange attitude but still nice looking. If she were really looking for a boyfriend, he might top the list of guys to talk to.

But there was no way he’d be interested in a little girl like her. After all, he was two grades higher than she was. So it was a good thing that she had other business to deal with. Up ahead, the Hikawa shrine awaited her and she took the steps with purpose. 

It was really a nice place, with lots of Cherry trees in blossom and well-kept grounds. A young girl stood off to the side and swept the pathway that led off into the trees from the main shrine. Usagi stared at her for a moment until the girl looked back at her with a fiery gaze that startled Usagi and caused her to step back a bit in surprise. On the one hand she felt ashamed for staring, but on the other hand she also felt as if she should know the girl. 

“Usagi, come on!” called Naru which broke the spell between Usagi and the mysterious girl. Usagi ran to catch up to her friends, every once in a while looking back for the girl, but the girl had vanished around the corner. When Usagi caught up to Naru, they were met by a little old man who clucked and fawned all over them.

“Oh, hello girls! Hello! Welcome to the Shrine. What can I get for you today? A charm? A prayer? A Chant?”

Usagi stepped back from the enthusiastic man and took a deep breath while Naru and Kuri stepped in closer and begged for charms, like all the other girls. Instead of joining them, Usagi drifted off to find the girl, finally running across her at a well in the middle of the trees. The girl looked so sad standing alone by the well that Usagi felt the need to talk to her. “Hello, my name is Usagi.”

The girl glanced up at Usagi, “Have we met?”

Usagi shook her head, “No, I just wanted to say hello.”

The girl stared at Usagi for another minute, then nodded and made as if to walk past her. She stopped when they came even of each other and looked sideways at Usagi. “You should be careful. I sense dark forces surrounding you."

Usagi blanched. “What should I do?”

The girl held out a hand and gave Usagi a piece of paper. “One day you might need this. It’s a protective charm. Keep it with you wherever you go.”

Usagi put the paper away in her pocket and nodded solemnly. “Thank you. By the way, what is your name?”

The girl smiled faintly. “It’s Rei Hino. I live here at the Shrine with my grandfather.”

Usagi smiled as well and shook Rei’s hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Rei. I’ll have to come back and visit you some time.”

Rei blinked and replied, “I—I think I’d like that.”

From around the corner Usagi heard her friends calling for her and she waved to Rei as she ran to meet them. It was getting late and Usagi still had homework to deal with. While Usagi was leaving, Rei watched her with a confused expression to match the confused feelings in her heart and soul. 

Rei was a strange soul, an old soul her Grandfather often said. At night she dreamed of castles and mist, the earth bright in the heavens and shining down on the moon. During the day, even at school, she could sense the evil in others around her. She was good at ignoring most of it, because it typically was nothing so deadly as a tack in the teachers chair or a spitball aimed her direction.

But then there were the serious moments, like with Usagi just now. Rei felt as if something were hovering around Usagi, something that could cause her great pain. And she felt the need to protect her somehow. So she had given Usagi a protective charm in the hopes of keeping that evil from touching the young girl.

Now as the girl left the shrine, Rei cast out her mind to see how much evil was left behind. It was silent around the shrine, but something still hovered on the outskirts. With any luck it would go away on its own and the Shrine would remain peaceful. But Rei never believed in luck.

o-O-o

Putting away her broom, Rei went in search of her Grandfather to see if he was hungry. Walking into the dojo, she stopped when she felt a wave of intense cold. From a darkened corner of the room she could just barely make out the shape of her Grandfather, tall and stately, his karate gi stained and dingy. Rei squinted as she tried to get a better look at him. “Grandpa?”

Instead of the jovial fellow that she was used to seeing, the creature which slithered out of the corner was dark and foreboding. Rei fought the desire to shiver as she got a really good look at the being with her grandfather’s face. Instead she called out with authority, “Release my grandfather at once!”

The being that was within her grandfather snickered as it moved. “And what makes you think I will do what you order? Because you are the princess?”

Out of the blue Rei answered, “I’m not a princess.”

The thing stared back at her. “Of course you are. I can tell by the way you stand, your attitude, the way you speak. You are the princess and my Queen will be very pleased with me once I have dispatched you.”

Rei snorted, “Me? A Princess? Not likely. I am Rei Hino, Fire Priestess and Guardian of the Sacred Flame.”

“A guardian. That must mean you are very important, yes?” The creature stepped forward. It looked like grandpa, and acted like grandpa, but it didn’t smell or sound like grandpa, and that is why Rei hesitated. She moved cautiously as the thing that seemed to be her grandpa moved closer. “My queen would be very happy with me if I brought you to her. She will have many questions for you.”

Rei came to an abrupt halt and pulled a piece of paper from the pocket of her robes. Along the strip of paper were a number of symbols which spelled out a charm of containment. She raised it to use against this thing but it moved so fast that she didn’t have time to activate it before it knocked her to the ground. 

“Now, now Guardian. Let’s not cause trouble.” The thing sneered as he stood over her. Rei glared back up at it.

“Get out of my Grandfather and fight fair!” She yelled. It shook its head.

“Sorry, can’t leave my host now. If I did then I wouldn’t be able to play.”

Suddenly Rei understood what was going on. A total possession from a demon was attacking her through her grandpa. Rei rolled to her knees and made her way up to her feet. She was alone, scared and out of options. The thing stepped towards her once more, a toothy grin gracing his features. “Ready for round two?”

Rei glanced around her for a way out, anything that could stop this creature from attacking her. All she found was a black cat with amethyst eyes. And where had that cat come from? She was confused and concerned that she was really going a little crazy now. It didn’t help matters much when the cat began to talk.

“It can be forced to leave its host! You must contain it and force it to leave!”

Rei stared hard at the cat for a moment. The cat that could talk and apparently knew what this thing was. But trap it how? She was about to ask when she felt the wind pick up and caught a glint of silver out of the corner of her eye. The thing stopped in its tracks when a red rose appeared, its stem sharp as it stuck in the floor. Rei followed its trajectory and found another stranger had entered the shrine grounds without her knowledge. The only thing she could think was that this stranger was not an evil danger or else she would have felt it sooner. The only evil she felt was from her Grandpa’s body. 

“Back away from the girl,” ordered the stranger from the shadows. Then he stepped out and Rei got a really good look at him. He was tall, wearing a tuxedo suit, top hat and a white mask which covered the upper half of his face and his nose. She had heard of this man before. The Tuxedo mask. He was a mystery to the police and a favorite among the girls in school. But what he was doing in her shrine was a bit of a mystery to her. 

The thing, on the other hand, cared not for the new comer and turned its full attention on him. “The girl comes with me. My queen must meet her. She will have many questions.”

“Too bad she’s not getting any answers today.” Replied the masked hero. He leapt from the rafters of the ceiling and landed between Rei and her grandpa, brandishing a cane. The thing inside her grandpa snarled and stepped back. Tuxedo mask stood his ground as the thing began to chant in some otherworldly language and out of the floor rose two ghostly apparitions. Their grotesque shapes hovered in place but for a moment before swarming out towards Tuxedo mask. He slashed at them with his cane and they dodged this way and that. Meanwhile Not-grandpa moved around the trio and came after Rei again.

But this time Rei was ready and threw the charm at Not-grandpa, catching it squarely on the nose and calling out loudly, “Hold!”

For a moment she thought she was winning. For a moment she thought that she had stopped the thing. The moment disappeared immediately as Not-grandpa kept coming at her. She did the only thing she could do. She turned and ran for the door. 

Just as she made it to the threshold the Not-grandpa grabbed her arm, catching only the sleeve of her robes and tearing out a swatch of the garment before she slipped away. She ran around the building and found the reason that her crows had not come to warn her of the dangers. They both lay on the ground dead. She stifled a shriek and hid behind a tree. She didn’t know where the Not-grandpa was but she hoped it couldn’t see her here. 

From behind the tree came the black cat with the amethyst eyes. It sat on the ground at Rei’s feet and gazed up at her expectantly. Rei stared back at her for what felt like a whole minute before saying something. “Well, what do I do now?”

The cat canted its head to the side. Rei couldn’t tell if it were male or female, but she figured it didn’t really matter much. The cat finally made a move, pawing the ground at her feet and then shaking its head and causing the bell on her collar to jingle. Then like magic a ring appeared on the ground. The ring was gold with a bright red ruby in the setting. Rei picked up the ring, rolled it around in her hand and was surprised when it suddenly slipped onto her finger. In shock, Rei flapped her hand in an attempt to remove the ring, but it wouldn’t come off. “Hey, what’s the deal?”   
  


“You are the Guardian of the Sacred flame. A Protector of the Earth and Moon using the powers of planet Mars. This is your transformation ring, it embodies the powers of Mars and is for you to become Sailor Mars.” The cat spoke rather matter-of-factly but Rei felt a large sense of urgency as she stared at the stone in the ring. She could almost imagine that the sparkle she saw was a flare of flame. 

“So how do I start the transformation?” Rei asked. The cat shrugged. 

“I haven’t the faintest idea.”

Rei sighed. She tried to imagine what she could say for a transformation spell. Suddenly she saw in her mind’s eye a television program she watched every once in awhile. The Sailor V show. Thinking back over the cat’s words, Rei put the two thoughts together and came up with an idea. “Let’s try this…” she muttered as she stepped from the tree and raised her hand in the air. 

“STAR POWER, FLAME OF MARS, TRANSFORM!”

The ring pulsed and shone as the magic within the stone flashed and flowed out to surround Rei in a transformation that she couldn’t remember happening, but when it ended she was standing by the tree wearing an outfit that looked a lot like Sailor V’s from the TV show. But where Sailor V’s outfit was Blue and Orange, Rei’s version was Red and Purple, with short heels instead of boots. She looked down at herself and blanched. “Holy cow, those are my knees!”

The cat dropped its head in shame, “Really? That’s all you can think right now?”

Rei… Sailor Mars… shook her head and clenched her fists. “No, what I can think right now is it’s time to save my grandfather.”

Just as Sailor Mars was turning back towards the little house, Not-grandpa came out looking for Rei. They stopped, facing each other across the courtyard. The creature hadn’t changed the total outward appearance of her grandfather. She could still see her father’s face, aged and wrinkled slightly, staring at her with bright blue eyes. But the face held a sneer and the body twisted in strange directions that could normally not be achieved by the human body. Mars held her ground against the creature, determined to stop this menace and rescue the man within.

Not-grandpa spoke first. “So where did you hide the girl? My Queen truly wishes to speak with her.”

Mars paused. The creature didn’t know that she was in reality Rei Hino in disguise! For a moment, Mars wondered what she truly looked like in a mirror, but didn’t have time to think about this and so shoved the thought to the side for another time. Job first, mirrors later. Returning her attention to the creature, Mars smiled faintly. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to help you with that. The girl is safe from you and from your Queen.”

Not-grandpa stopped moving and stared at Mars. She was still smiling as she continued, “You, on the other hand, are not very safe right now. In fact I would dare say that you are in a lot of danger, right this second.”

The creature snarled and suddenly rushed forward towards Mars with black eyes whirling in their sockets. Mars felt the winds shifting and the fires within her boiled as she dodged aside. Not to be undaunted the creature tried to again to make a grab for her and Mars heard within her heart and soul the commanding power she knew she needed to call to stop this monster in its tracks.

“BURNING MANDALA!”

The call brought a circle of sigils out of thin air, pulling fire to Mars’ hands from all points. Releasing her deep breath, she mentally commanded the fire out and away from her and to surround the creature that wore Grandpa’s shape. A barrage of fire rings shot out and circled him, holding him in place by the sheer fear of being burned. Mars watched for a moment as the creature ran around in circles within the fire ring, but didn’t attempt to leave it. Once she felt that her threat had had the desired effect, she walked closer so as to be heard by the creature.

“All I have to do is wave my hand and the ring closes on you. I want to know who your Queen is.”

The creature stopped and stared at Mars. “My Queen? My Queen is bigger and stronger than you. But I recognize you, Sailor Mars. Guardian of the Sacred Flame. I remember what you did to my Queen in the old days. You tell your princess that we are coming for her. My Queen will have your princess. It’s only a matter of time!”

Mars glared at the creature. “Fine, consider the message delivered, now get lost and leave this man alone!”

She wasn’t sure what happened, but suddenly a haze lifted off of Grandpa and floated up into the air and drifted apart and away. Grandpa slumped to the ground and when Sailor Mars waved a hand to dissipate the rings of fire, she came close enough to hear Grandpa snoring. She breathed a sigh of relief.

“He slept through the entire thing.” She muttered as she looked around for the cat. It dutifully stepped from around the tree and sat licking a paw. Mars smiled faintly. “There you are, Luna. I knew you would be around here somewhere.”

“Of course, Sailor Mars. Where else would I be?” The cat stood up and walked closer to Mars. “Now I think we need to sit together and talk about what’s coming our way.”

o-O-o

Usagi slid into her seat several minutes before the bell rang and smiled over at her classmates. Many of the girls in school had gotten love charms from the shrine the day before and some of them had seemed to work as several girls told stories of being asked to the upcoming spring formal. Usagi herself had no invite but she wasn’t all that upset. Sure she would have loved to go. But with no boyfriend and with too much studying to do, she really didn’t have time to go dancing. 

Another good piece of news was that the reports of girls growing weak after visiting the shrine had turned into stories of miraculous recovery. Usagi couldn’t help wondering if her visit hadn’t had something to do with it, but she quickly discounted it as coincidence. 

Turning towards the front of the class, Usagi tried to focus on what her teachers was telling to her classmates. Her eyes widened as she recognized the girl standing next to her teacher. ‘It’s her!’

“Class, I want you to meet our newest student transferring from Cherry Blossom public school. This is Rei Hino. I want you all to give her all the help she needs and be polite to her.” The teacher then waved a hand and smiled down at Rei, “Find a seat, dear.”

Usagi looked around and noticed that there was a seat open right next to her. She raised a hand quickly and waved Rei over to it. Rei smiled and nodded as she came to sit next to Usagi. They began to grin foolishly at each other. Usagi leaned over and whispered, “Glad you’re here, Rei.”

Rei nodded back at her and Usagi turned her attention back to the teacher. Rei watched her for a moment before looking back at the teacher. She caught a glint of something out of her right eye and glanced over at the window where Luna sat watching them. With a careful and deliberate motion, Rei gave the cat a thumb’s up sign and winked.

Luna nodded once and turned to leap off the window sill to the ground. She blew out a sigh of relief as she headed back towards the city to file her report. The first of the Sailor Senshi had been released from her memory block and was in place to protect Usagi. The next move would be the enemy’s.


	4. Minato-ku ward

It had been two weeks since the incident at the Shrine and Rei was settling in to the job of being friends with Usagi Tsukino. It was not the easiest of jobs, as Usagi wasn’t anything like Rei remembered her being. First, there was the hair, which looked like it had been styled professionally but in truth was done by Usagi herself every morning. Then there was the fact that Usagi was getting up early every morning and getting to school on time. Not to mention the homework she was remembering to finish and turn in on time.

And now it was the karate instructions that Usagi had inexplicably begged her mother to let her take part in at the shrine! Rei watched the petite blonde as she pulled her pigtails up into tighter odangos to keep the long curls out of the way as she practices. It was seriously upside down around here and Rei wasn’t sure how she was supposed to work all of this. 

Grandpa came in from the side and marched to the center of the mat, his hands fisted on his hips and his chin up as he looked over his students. Usagi was one of 12 boys and girls who surrounded him in a tight square, holding herself in a natural stance with her hands fisted and held tight to either side near her hips and her feet shoulder width apart. Rei watched her with interest and noted all the differences in the Usagi Tsukino she once knew and the one before her know.

This couldn’t be their princess, could it? She was so much more… confident than she used to be. So much more secure in herself. It was amazing and exciting and Rei couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. But right now, she had to sit and watch Usagi get herself tossed on her behind about fifteen times before the end of the first day of lessons.

By the time Grandpa had called a halt to the practice Usagi was limping a bit on her right side where she had landed on her hip five times in a row. Rei sighed as she watched the girl slowly move back to her spot on the mat. Maybe this wasn’t the best place for Usagi to learn all of this. Maybe Grandpa wasn’t the correct teacher. He was used to more advanced training. Usagi needed a more gentle teacher.

‘Mako!’ Rei snapped her fingers in realization. That is who Usagi needed to teach her to fight, but Rei still had one problem. Did she introduce Mako to Usagi with or without her memories? She needed to talk to Luna and get her impression on this subject.

“Dismissed!” came the shout from Grandpa, releasing the students to leave. Usagi limped over to Rei and fell onto the floor at her knees, pain evident in her facial features and slow movements. Rei could almost understand the pain, she’d been there herself once upon a time. Standing, Rei reached down and helped Usagi back to her feet, leading her to the door.

“Come on, let’s get you home and into a nice steaming bath.” Rei crooned as she helped Usagi get out of her Gee in the changing room and into her street clothes. She noted the bruises on her friend’s hips and winced in sympathy. Yeah, she was going to feel this in the morning. Good thing tomorrow was Saturday and Usagi could sleep in. 

The trip was long on the bus, but Rei stayed with Usagi the whole way. Somewhere along the route Rei felt the need to make conversation. “Why are you doing all of this, Usagi? Why are you putting yourself through this?”

Usagi looked up from her lap where she had been staring for the last five minutes. “Doing what, Rei? The karate lessons?”

Rei nodded, “Yeah, the karate. And the tutoring with Ami to bring your grades up. And the getting up two hours early to make sure your hair looks right. Why do it, what’s so important?”

Usagi returned to staring at her hands for another moment, flicked her eyes to the windows and down the aisle towards one of the doors of the bus, before looking back up at Rei with a helpless smile on her face. “Have you ever had a dream that felt so real, that it scared you? A dream where you were losing everything and you were helpless to stop any of it?” She paused a moment in her explanation and Rei felt a hitch in her throat at the emotions that she watched rush over her friend’s face, none of them pleasant. “I had a dream like that the night before school started this year. And I decided, when I woke in the middle of the night, that I was going to make sure that the dream never came true.”

Rei said nothing as they reached Usagi’s bus stop and she helped her friend down the steps and up to her house. A couple of hours later, as Rei left Usagi sleeping peacefully in her bed after a nice soak and a massage, she trotted down the steps to the street with purpose. She knew now how she was going to introduce Makoto Kino to Usagi Tsukino. And she would do it Monday afternoon! Right after Rei took care of one more little thing.

o-O-o

The next day found Rei in the Minato-ku ward looking for her friend Makoto. Finding her had been the easy part, Mako-chan still lived in the same small house she had grown up in. It was the accidentally meeting the tomboyish girl that Rei was having trouble figuring out. And then, in desperation, she went in search of Luna for help. She had found the cat at the Arcade, curiously enough, and explained her plan of bringing Makoto’s memories back. The feline was not impressed.

“How did you intend to do this without my help in the first place?” asked Luna. Rei stared at her in bewilderment.

“So I have to go through you with everything I plan?” Rei snarked. Her sneer fell as she noticed the cat staring at her intently. She swallowed before replying, “Yes ma’am. From now on I go to you with all of my plans first.”

The cat blinked her eyes slowly. “For the most part if you want to bring in any of the Sailor Senshi, I can help. But under no circumstances are you to bring Usagi’s memories back to her. Is that clear?”

Rei frowned, “Why not?”

“Orders.” It wasn’t a good enough answer, but after a few moments of silence Rei let it go. 

“Alright, well, any idea how we can go about meeting up with Makoto?” asked Rei as she stood outside Makoto’s front door. Luna stared at her intently for another moment and just as Rei was about to question her again, she leaped into the air and hit Rei in the face, causing the girl to flail backwards with her arms pinwheeling in an attempt to regain balance. Her right foot came off the curb and she could hear tires squealing!

“Gotcha!” the voice of a young man sounded in her ear as a strong arm wrapped around her waist and brought her back to solid ground. Another voice came from a few steps away.

“Is she alright, Shinozaki?” Rei looked around and caught sight of Makoto racing down the sidewalk towards her and the man who held her, Shinozaki. Rei remembered him from before, an old and dear friend of Makoto’s from years back. It appeared in this incarnation that Mako-chan and Shinozaki were still best friends. Finding her footing, Rei stepped out of Shinozaki’s arms and took a step towards Luna, who sat to the side with wide eyes.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Rei checked her shoes and her jacket, a decent enough acting job to see where she might have been given cause to slip and nearly fall into traffic that way. “I don’t know what happened.”

Makoto smiled, “It’s just luck that Kin was coming past you right then, or you would have been hit by a car.”

Rei smiled, “Thank you Kin-san for your timely intervention.” She bowed low, which was returned by Kin who stood next to Makoto and smiled back.

“No trouble. And this is Makoto Kino. We are standing in front of her home.” Kin Shinozaki said as he waved a hand towards the house. 

Rei bowed again and replied, “I am Rei Hino. It is a pleasure to meet you both.”

Makoto bowed in response before asking, “Do you live around here, Rei?”

“No,” Rei replied honestly. “I was just going for a walk.” She looked around herself for a moment, feeling the awkwardness of the meeting becoming straining. “I should go. Nice meeting you both.” She turned on her heel and made to leave, only to stumble a bit on her right ankle. Kin caught her once again before she fell and Makoto knelt down to look at her ankle. “Ow,” muttered Rei darkly.

Makoto glanced up, “It doesn’t look bad, but maybe it would be better if you came in for a bit of rest, and some chocolate cake!” She was all huge grins and bright eyes while Kin smiled shyly before helping Rei into the little house and into the kitchen.

Once they were inside, Rei glanced around the place to get a feel for who this Makoto was compared to previous incarnations. There were framed photos of Mako and her parents on the walls that went all the way up until Mako was in middle school. But then they stopped and Mako was alone. Rei remembered that Mako had lost her parents when she was 13 from a plane crash, and Mako had been living alone since her grandmother died when she was 16.

Kin helped Rei to sit at the kitchen table while Mako got them each a slice of rich chocolate cake and a glass of milk. Once they were seated, Rei asked Mako to talk about herself a bit. She shared a bit of her past, including Kin in the story, and then turned it back on Rei by asking her where she lived and what she did. Rei told them about school and living at the temple. It was a nice afternoon of conversation with new friends.

When Rei looked up and noticed the time, she made as if to stand and leave. Kin and Mako stood with her. “Thank you for the refreshments and the rest, but I should be going now.”

Mako put a hand on her arm, “How are you going to get home?”

Rei waved her other hand in a ‘no bother’ gesture, “I’ll just catch a bus.”

“Then I’ll walk you there,” Kin said firmly. “It wouldn’t do for a young lady as yourself to walk in the dark alone.”

Mako nodded and Rei reluctantly agreed. They headed out together, with Mako watching them from her front porch, and made their way to the nearest bus stop. Rei wasn’t upset that she hadn’t been able to speak with Mako alone, Kin was a very nice guy and very chivalrous. But it didn’t help Rei get to the point with Mako. Rei looked up the street to see when the next bus arrived, and therefore didn’t notice the purple cloud that floated down from the sky and settle over Kin, who stood next to her waiting for the bus. 

She also didn’t notice when he took a step back from her, when he held his hand out from his side, or when he grasped air that became a large knife to be used to strike Rei down. Rei looked up the street in seeming oblivion, unaware that Kin was raising the knife to stab her. But as the knife came down, and as Makoto began to scream at Kin to stop as she raced down the sidewalk, Rei vanished in the blink of an eye and a red flash of light.

Kin’s hand sliced through empty air while Mako grabbed at his arm, spinning him around and yelling, “What the heck are you doing, Shinozaki?!” But she let him go immediately after that as she stared into the face of a creature that was definitely not her friend! Kin moved to grab her arm in retaliation but was beat back by an arrow of flame.

“Stay back, Youma,” warned Sailor Mars as she landed between the creature and Mako. Mako fell back to the side and watched the battle that was transpiring before her. Sailor Mars growled at the creature, “I thought I sent a message to you freaks before, I am not the Princess!”

The ‘Kin’ creature’s face twisted up into a snarl. “I’m not looking for that simpleton Princess!”

Sailor Mars stepped back to regroup, “Then why are you here?”

The snarl remained in place, “I’m here to kill the two strongest Sailor Senshi! Mars and Jupiter! I would have only gone after Jupiter, but then *you* showed up as well and I thought to myself ‘Why not kill two Senshi with one stone?’ and here we are! But I’m curious as to why Sailor Jupiter is not joining our little battle scene.”

The Youma looked at Mako, who blanched slightly. She glanced at Mars with a ‘Who me?’ look on her face. Sailor Mars grimaced before she replied, “Because that’s not Sailor Jupiter, you idiot! Look at her closely, she has no powers! Now release that boy and leave because you are making me really angry right now!”

o-O-o

While the Youma and Mars bickered across the street, Mako watched helplessly. She had no idea what was happening and she didn’t know what she had to do with any of it. Kin was not being himself and that scared her. And he talked about a Sailor Jupiter, which frankly confused her. Her star sign was ruled by Jupiter and she’s always loved the large gas planet with its marbled surface. And the only ‘Sailor’s that she knew of that he spoke about were from the Sailor V tv show and video game. And apparently this Sailor Mars who was fighting him.

And what a fighter! Hand to hand combat via karate was one of Mako’s favorite martial arts, and this girl was accomplished at it. Kin kept coming at her with the knife and she kept putting him off, deflecting without hurting him but not letting herself get too close either. Then when Kin dropped the knife, things got interesting. Mako had no clue what was wrong with her friend, but he was not acting like Kin right now. 

With about five feet between them, Kin held out one hand towards Mars and a dark energy gathered from the air to cover it. With a flick of his wrist he sent it hurtling towards Mars, who suddenly appeared to vanish but in actuality had simply leaped high in the sky over him. She held her hands as if she held a bow and arrow and yelled, “Flame Sniper!”

An arrow of flame spurted from her hand and flew at Kin, but he ducked out of the way. Then he, too was in the air and they were trading magical blows with one another. Mako flinched each time that one of the hits was on Kin, but she was also concerned for the Senshi. Just as she was about to yell at them again, Kin turned his attention towards her with a murderous look in his… purple eyes? Caught in the open, Mako blanched as Kin swooped down towards her, landing just behind her and taking her neck in one of his large hands.

The Senshi stopped mid-dive and landed a few feet from Kin and Mako. She eyed him with uncertainty as Mako heard the rumble of Kin’s voice behind her right ear. “Maybe I’ll just kill this one anyway. She might not be Sailor Jupiter yet, but that just means I’m getting to her before she becomes a problem.”

Mako shuddered at the rancid breath coming from Not-Kin and stared hard at Sailor Mars. Something deep in her gut was telling her that this moment was most significant and that she needed to pay attention to her surroundings and her apparent enemy. She thought of something and asked aloud, “So is Kin-san still in this… thing?”

Mars nodded sharply with minimal movement. Mako breathed out a sigh of relief and then took another deep breath in and out, centering herself. This thing in Kin thought she was weak without these Sailor Senshi powers she was supposed to have? Obviously it didn’t have a mental connection with its host or was unable to see who she really was in Kin’s eyes. 

So much the better.

Reaching up with her left hand, she pressed her thumb into the webbing between thumb and forefinger of Kin’s hand which he still had around her throat. Pressing firmly his hand spasmed giving her a clear space to drop, slide to the side and turn around, taking Kin over her hip at the same time and dropping him on the ground. The air rushed out of him in a ‘whuf’ of surprise and he lay dazed on the ground long enough for Mako to race away from him and hide behind a set of dumpsters in a nearby alley. Mars hid with her and together they took deep gulping breaths.

Mako looked around the dumpster bin and watched Not-Kin stand up and shake his head to regain focus. She glanced back at Mars and asked, “How do we get that thing out of Kin?”

“I’m not sure, this is only the second one I have been up against.” Mars grumbled as she cast about for something. Mako leaned around the dumpster and saw the Not-Kin headed their direction.

“Yeah well here he comes again,” warned Mako as Mars seemed to find what she was looking for on the ground. A couple of feet away stood a black cat wearing a yellow crescent moon on its forehead. Mars spoke directly to the cat before them. 

“Any idea how to stop this thing?” Mars asked. Mako glanced between the Senshi and the cat, confusion flitting across her face. She was about to ask if Mars was off her rocker or something, but then the cat answered back.

“I believe it is weakest when it is free of its host. I would suggest knocking Kin out in some way as to not do any lasting harm.”

Mako’s eyes widened. A Sailor Senshi, a talking black cat and a spirit invading her best friend’s body. And for some reason Mako thought this all made some sort of strange sense. Before she could say anything, Mars leapt over the dumpster at Not-Kin and was gone, leaving Mako alone with the talking cat.

The cat stared at Mako calmly, amethyst eyes sparkling. Mako canted her head to the side in thought. “So, I take it you know me?”

The cat sniffs before reciting, “Makoto Kino, age 18, graduated high school earlier this year. Parents dead, grandmother dead. Interests are cooking, flowers and martial arts. Born under the sign of Jupiter in December. Second in command of Her Majesty’s Personal guard of Sailor Senshi.”

Mako blinked. Okay so the cat thought she was special, and Mars thought she was special. Even the evil spirit inhabiting Kin’s body seem to think she was some sort of big deal. She sighed as she peeked around the dumpster to check the progress of Mars. It didn’t look good. “Well, if I’m so special, how am I supposed to be this Sailor Jupiter?”

“With this,” the cat replied as she dropped a pair of rose colored earrings on the ground at her feet. 

Mako picked up the beautiful earrings and examined them closely. They were colored glass with a tiny pink rose in each, and on top of each rose was the symbol of Jupiter. She slipped them into her earlobes and fingered them lightly. Standing tall, Mako spoke out loudly the words that came from her heart. 

“STAR POWER, LIGHTNING STRIKE OF JUPITER, TRANSFORM!”

o-O-o

“BURNING MANDALA!” Mars slammed the fire rings into motion, surrounding Kin-san and the demon inhabiting him. The thing twisted around and looked at the rings in disgust. 

“You won’t hurt this vessel any more than you wanted to hurt the one we had before. I know your game, Sailor Mars.” Kin-san stepped up to the fire rings and reached out a finger to touch one of the spinning orbs that made it up. “Just another few inches and I could fry this body to a crisp.”

“LIGHTNING STRIKE!”

The lance of pure light that came from nowhere reached out and hit the narby hydrant, cracking it and spilling just a bit of water on the ground at Kin-san’s feet. He glared down at the water, then up at the sky, and finally he turned to look at the young woman who stood on top of the garbage dumpster. Her eyes flashed as she grinned devilishly at him.

“Burn you to a crisp is not a chance I’m willing to take. Electro-shock, on the other hand, still keeps the body salvageable.” Sailor Jupiter explained as Mars took her que to get to higher ground. Kin-san growled up at the two scouts, both out of his reach. The tiny antena that poked up from Jupiter’s tiara sparked with visible lightening, waiting to be unleashed. Finally, a decision had been reached.

“Fine, you’ve won this round!” yelled Kin-san. “But mark my words, the Shadow Kingdom isn’t through with you yet! You will give up the Princess and the Crystal to my Queen so that she might rule the Galaxy!”

Jupiter scoffed as Kin-san’s body stiffened and dropped to the ground. She leapt off the dumpster to land next to him while Mars closed off the hydrant and dispelled the fire rings. “Is he okay?” Mars asked.

“He’ll live.” replied Jupiter as she lifted Kin-san into her arms and headed for the Kino home. Mars got there first and opened the door for them while Jupiter went to lay Kin-san on the couch in the front room. They both de-transformed afterwards while Kin was still out. Mako sighed, “Well that was a heck of a wakeup call.”

“I’m sorry, Mako-chan. This wasn’t what I had planned when I told Luna we needed to start calling you all back.” Rei said as she sat in a nearby chair, her hands wringing together in her lap. Mako shook her head.

“No, it’s okay, Rei. I’m sure you had good reason to wake me up now. Seeing Kin like that was freaky, though.”

Rei grimaced before replying, “Our new playmates from the Shadow Kingdom. I know next to nothing about them. Luna said that one even went after Usagi-chan. Oh, by the way, Usagi doesn’t know about any of this.”

“What?” Mako asked in shock. “But she has always been first to be woken when we are reincarnated!”

“I know, but orders from Luna say to keep Usagi in the dark until the last possible moment, in an attempt to protect her.” Rei shrugged. “The problem is, I think there is something else at work here.”

Mako canted her head slightly in question, so Rei elaborated. “She’s done an entire 180 degrees this year. She’s a Senior in High School, she’s fighting to get good grades, she’s taking karate from my Grandfather, she’s changed her hair and her attitude. It’s eerie.”

Mako snorted, “Are you sure it’s really Usagi?”

Rei stared at her, wide-eyed, “If you don’t believe me, come to the arcade tomorrow around 3:30 and let’s see if we can catch her.”

Mako rolled her eyes, “Of course she’s going to be at the arcade. It’s her home away from home.”

Rei shook her head, “Not anymore.”


End file.
